New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks has proposed a change to the way funding is distributed among schools across the five boroughs, with a new focus on equity.
Funding for public schools is currently determined on a per-student basis.
Banks’ proposal, the “Fair Student Funding Formula,” would look to provide more funding to schools serving students with uncertain living conditions.
Under the program, students living in temporary housing would be given greater weight when calculating funding, including the children of asylum seekers now attending city public schools.
There would also be an emphasis on schools with higher concentration of students living in poverty, with disabilities or as English language learners.
It’s expected to drive $45 million to more than 300 schools across the city serving the highest-need students.
Banks told “Mornings On 1” Tuesday that the plan is about fairness and students’ needs.
“There is no school that's going to lose any funding as a result of these proposed changes,” he said. “As we look at some of the asylum seeking families that are coming in, there are schools that have gotten quite a few of those students – they need a greater level of funding than schools that have not, and wanted to ensure that we can make that happen.”
Banks said the additional funding will also go toward mental health counselors to help students that have gone through traumatic events.
The chancellor also spoke with NY1 about the city’s decision to drop COVID-19 vaccine mandates for schools, a rise in violence among teens and more.